College Sports
Gymnastics’ Coaching Staff, Hu Receive Additional National Honors
Story Links COLUMBIA, Mo. – The awards continue to pile up for University of Missouri gymnastics, as the coaches were named College Gym News Coaching Staff of the Year and redshirt senior Helen Hu (Chicago) earned Comeback Gymnast of the Year, the publication announced on Monday. Last week, head coach Shannon Welker […]
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The awards continue to pile up for University of Missouri gymnastics, as the coaches were named College Gym News Coaching Staff of the Year and redshirt senior Helen Hu (Chicago) earned Comeback Gymnast of the Year, the publication announced on Monday.
Last week, head coach Shannon Welker was named the Women’s Collegiate Gymnastics Association’s (WCGA) National Coach of the Year. Additionally, MU’s assistants were given National Assistant Coaches of the Year honors by the same association.
The 2025 season was the most successful year in Missouri gymnastics history, ending with a third-place finish at the NCAA Championship Final. The Tigers’ final ranking of No. 3 marked the highest of any Mizzou women’s sports team in school history.
Welker, who is Mizzou’s first national coach of the year award winner since wrestling’s Brian Smith in 2017, was also named Southeastern Coach of the Year for the second time in his career and WCGA South Central Coach of the Year. Under his leadership this season, the Tigers accounted for nine WCGA All-America honors and six WCGA Regular Season All-Americans, both of which were program bests.
Assistant coaches Whitney Snowden, Lacey Rubin and Jackie Terpak also collected the accolade as part of Welker’s staff. Snowden oversaw the team’s uneven bars, Rubin guided the team on the balance beam and Terpak led Mizzou on the floor exercise.
Under the nationally recognized coaching staff, Hu became the program’s first individual national champion, claiming the balance beam title after a 9.9875 effort at the NCAA Championship Semifinal. She was named both a WCGA first-team All-American and a WCGA regular-season first-team All-American, an All-SEC Team member, SEC Specialist of the Year, SEC Balance Beam Champion and a record-setting five SEC Specialist of the Week awards.
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